Trump Ad Banned: Anti-Wind Farm Ad Misleading, Says Britain's Advertising Standards Agency

AP News reported today that an anti-wind farm ad campaign by Trump International Golf Club Scotland, which warns wind farms would hurt Scottish tourism and put the beauty of the country "in jeopardy", is misleading and unsubstantiated, and as such must be withdrawn.

The campaign is part of an ongoing effort by Donald Trump to derail the Scottish government's plans to build wind turbines off the coast of Menie, Aberdeenshire, where he is building a £750 million ($1,146,075,000) golf resort. The billionaire says that the turbines will spoil the view of the North Sea from his resort.

The advertisement in question -- which can be seen on Buzzfeed here -- features a picture of wind turbines looming over a California highway from a hillside and asks, "Is this the future for Scotland?" It also makes mention of Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond's decision to release Abdelbaset ali Mohmed al-Megrahi from prison after being diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer and given three months to live. Al-Megrahi was convicted for his involvement in the 1988 killing of 270 people on Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded on route from London to New York.

Britain's Advertising Standards Agency, an independent advertising regular, called the ad misleading and said its claims could not be substantiated. The Advertising Standards Authority reportedly received 21 complaints about the ad.

The Guardian reported that Trump International Golf Club Scotland submitted a report to the ASA claiming that wind farms near tourist resorts "inevitably deter tourists and harm tourism." The ASA said that according to its analysis of studies, there was "little evidence of a negative effect and, over time, hostility to wind farms lessened and they became an accepted and even valued part of the scenery."

Because the Golf Club's claim was not substantiated, the ASA ruled the image of the California highway and turbines was also misleading, meaning the ad must be banned.

Trump has long been fighting the wind turbine project and has threatened to halt construction on the resort. The project has been criticized by environmentalists who say parts of the land are protected out of scientific interest and by local landowners who have been pressured to leave by developers. Trump had originally planned to build two golf courses, a multilevel hotel and 15,000 homes, according to a documentary which follows the local community's opposition to the project.

Thus far, the site is no more than a single golf course.